


Survival of the Fittest

by Beryll (Rynthjan)



Series: Sir Yaden [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: A bit of torture, Slavery, Yaiciz, phoenix empire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-20
Updated: 2012-07-20
Packaged: 2017-11-10 08:16:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/464148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rynthjan/pseuds/Beryll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little Anita is a good girl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Survival of the Fittest

**Author's Note:**

> Set in the year 5036 of the Phoenix Empire timeline.

"God damnit, boy, what's WRONG with you?!"

Anita smirked as her brother flinched from the scolding of his trainer as if he'd been slapped.

Ivan was always trying so hard to please, to be good enough. No matter what field of study - he excelled at it.

History - he knew all the important dates, could recite names of people and places by heart, knew who had been where when and done or promised what.

Politics - he had memorized all the important nobles of the present and a few of the past by name and image, he knew who was beholden to whom, all the intricate strands of the complex web that made up the ruling cats of the Phoenix Empire.

Etiquette - Dracon, Jehanni, Castella, Cournicowa, van der Meer, guilds, church, commoners - he knew how to properly treat them.

And of course combat. Hand to hand, slug guns, blasters, he had been trained with all of them. With twin blades he was a demon, fast and precise. A terror to his trainers, since not a single one of them knew what else to teach him.

To any other father he would have been a perfect son.

But not to their father. To their father he was a complete and utter failure and he knew it.

He was missing the two most vital qualities their father had been looking for in him.

One was of course the ruthlessness any Dracon needed to survive the brutal maxim of their noble house: "The survivor inherits". Of late many branches of the family had grown lax in this regard but here on Yaiciz, in this particular household, it still held true.

Their father's brother was the duke of Yiaciz and he was thoroughly "old school". He was also childless. Their father was his closest relative which put them in direct line of succession. A title that would not be gained by being a diligent student or a pleasant nephew. A title that would only be gained through intrigue, murder and a complete lack of conscience.

But that really was his main problem. A conscience. He just lacked the guts to be brutal and cruel.

Like every Dracon child he had learned about sex early. But he lacked the appetite for the more creative uses one could put a bed slave to. Control and inflicting pain on others where the favourite past time of the family. He at most wanted to cuddle. 

He shied away from experiencing the darker and painful aspects of life. That made him a liability by House Dracon's other maxim: "Only what you don't know can hurt you."

The more important failure, the one that her brother was made to feel every breath he took was his lack in talent where it truly mattered to their father.

Their father was a psion. A quite strong pyromancer. His wife had been carefully picked for her genetic make up so she would enhance his. So they would breed psions of the highest quality. Scientists had assisted in carefully monitoring both Ivan and Anita before their birth.

Anita was an incredible success. She was only 15 years old, but already her abilities were near prime level. Fire was her toy. Her mental capabilities ruled it with steely concentration. She had mastered all the complex regimes her trainers had put her trough. She was everything their father had envisioned.

Ivan, who was one year older than her, was the ultimate failure. He failed the simplest of meditation exercises. He was hard pressed to even light a candle.

Which he had just proven anew.

With a happy sigh Anita leaned against the frame of the gate leading out to the training yard, motioning to the men who accompanied her to remain quiet and out of sight. She watched with malicious glee as he was chewed out by his trainer. The poor man really had no clue what else to do to make Ivan succeed. Of course it was Ivan's failure, but none the less their father would blame the trainer as much. She could have told both of them, of course, that their suffering was about to end, but why cut this amusing display short. 

It was a typical Yiaciz afternoon; the sky was dark grey with smog from some distant industrial plant blowing this way. Even here at their country estate there often was no escaping the constant pollution of the planet's atmosphere, but that was a price one had to pay for being somewhat civilized. Maybe a planet like Chiraz had better air, but they missed out on electricity, planet-wide communication and all the other amenities that progress brought. A grey sky was a small price to pay.

She was too far away to hear what the trainer was saying but she could see her brother flinch repeatedly and duck his head. Finally the man threw up his hands in exasperation and stalked off, leaving the training yard through the door that led to the armoury. Anita watched as her brother slumped, hanging his head. Time to put him out of his misery.

Putting on her most charming smile, Anita made her way over to her brother, who had started to pick up the training equipment to store it away.

"Ah, Vanya, Vanya..." Anita greeted him, using the nick name he despised, "my poor brother. Did you make a fool of yourself again?"

He looked up to glare at her, his handsome face marred by a deep frown. Anita sighed soundlessly. He was a pretty boy, no doubt about that. Like her, he had inherited their mother's straight black hair and fine features, not the gaunt, sharply cut visage of their father. That at least was one thing that brought his worth up.

With all the taunting and teasing she heaped on him daily, he should be hating her guts, but he didn't manage more than a serious dislike. He would never have made a proper Dracon. Their father really was right to end it now, Anita thought. Probably even Ivan would be happier this way, when he didn't need to make any decisions of his own anymore. Some people where just not born to be nobles.

"What do you want, Anita?" her brother asked curtly.

She opened her arms in a conciliatory gesture. "I come bearing a message from father."

For a moment she enjoyed the warring fear and hope on his face. Then she stepped to the side, allowing Ivan to see the five burly men who now entered the training yard. Five men who were pointing weapons at him.

Anita was quite impressed when he managed to dodge the first two stunner shots aimed at him. Of course, he should have rolled towards her, to grab her as a human shield and take her hostage, but apparently the thought didn't even cross his mind as he instead ran for another exit from the yard. Had he been wearing an energy shield he might even have made it and Anita would have been forced to intervene herself to stop him. But he wasn't wearing a shield and a stunner shot that hit his leg brought him down. He should have worn a shield. Any child of House Dracon was expected to be prepared for a stab in the back at any time, especially from their siblings. Anita used a military grade double layer shield.

Shot in the back, how fitting, Anita mused as she watched how the men piled on top of him. Even stunned, he was still trying to struggle but of course he was entirely outmatched. The men managed to turn him on his belly and then used force cuffs to secure his hands on his back. That didn't stop him from kicking one of them straight in the face.

The poor offended man raised his fist to strike Ivan, but Anita stopped him: "Ah! Don't damage the merchandise!" she admonished coldly.

The man subsided with a grumble and his fellows pulled her brother up to a kneeling position as Anita made her way over to them. He was shaking his head, trying to clear off the effect of the stunner shot. Then he raised his head to look at her. She would have expected a hate filled glare but again he disappointed her. His gaze was full of hurt and confusion. Anita decided to take pity on him and save him from making even more of a fool of himself.

"Father has had it with you." She explained. "You will never be the son he wanted. So he will cut his losses here and now. You'll be sold as a slave. At least you are pretty enough so will fetch a good price."

Ivan stared at her without comprehension for a moment, then understanding flickered in his eyes. "No." he whispered, shaking his head.

Anita smiled. "Oh, come on, Vanya, you didn't think he would watch you fail forever, did you?"

She was relieved when he at least didn't start begging. That would have been just shameful. Instead he just knelt there, limp in the hands of his captors now, shocked.

Anita stepped up to them and crouched in front of her brother. "My sweet Vanya, I will miss you, you know?" she said gently. "I asked father to give you to me. There would have been so many fun things I could have done to you." 

That finally caught his attention and he tried to form a reply but his mouth was just working soundlessly, unable to frame a fitting reply.

"But father refused. He doesn't want to be reminded of you ever again. He can be such a harsh bastard, don't you agree." Anita tossed her long braid over her shoulder. "So goodbye it is, Vanya. But I do have a parting gift for you."

She had been looking forward to this last stab at her brother ever since their father had entrusted her with this task. She took the steel slave-collar out of a pocket of her jacket and showed it to Ivan.

"No!" he shouted, immediately starting to struggle again but this time the men had him firmly under control. 

One of them held his head still by grabbing his hair. Anita closed the collar around his neck and leaned in close to him.

"Don't think I'm not kind, sweet Vanya." She whispered in his ear. "It's just the standard issue. No psi-blocker included. So should you find a shred of talent, not that I think you ever will, it will give you a fighting chance."

She drew back laughing as he tried to bite her. He knew as well as herself that he would never be able to use psi to break free.

"Now, let's see what this baby can do, shall we?" she asked, shivering with anticipation.

Ivan stared at her defiantly. He would make such a pretty slave, Anita thought as she took the remote control to the collar out of her pocket. She let it sink in that she was going to use it. Then she activated the pain inducer of the collar.

With a hiss of helpless pain, her brother writhed in the hands of his captors. He was gritting his teeth, trying to be brave, trying to keep silent. Anita licked her lips, shuddering with excitement. So pretty in his torment. Damn, she really would miss him. But there was no need to deliver him to the slavers waiting outside just yet. First she would enjoy him.


End file.
